Questions tagged [optics]
Optics is the study of light, and its interaction with matter. It includes topics such as imaging systems, fiber optics, lasers, quantum optics, and more.
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Expectation value of vacuum state [closed]
I'm confused about the expectation value of the vacuum state b.
Here's my understating:
the a' and b' are defined by operator a and b which are similar to the annihilation operator. So when we act ...
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What is the field of view in? [closed]
From a fixed point of view of the eyes that is head neck and eye balls, what is the maximum vertical angle of the sky is covered?
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Need help with experimental setup to measure Birefringence [closed]
First message here, sorry if this is scrappy:
I am looking to measure the birefringence of multiple crystalline structures (calcite, ice, etc), and came across this methodology:
Shine a laser at ...
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The use of Corner reflector and beams to find the distance between moon and earth and light Divergence?
I am about to start college and my knowledge regarding both beams and retroreflectors is close to nonexistent ,
but from what I read a corner reflector is a device that reflects waves back to its ...
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Two-qutrit preparation using linear optics
How can I prepare a two-qutrit product state (let's say $\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}|0\rangle|0+2\rangle$ using optics? Do I need a BBO crystal (as I know BBO crystal produces an entangled state), or can I use ...
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Why transparent object altering only the phase of light but not the frequency or amplitude? Is there exception?
I have learned the fascinating phase contrast microscope from Eugene's textbook optics that made transparent object become visible.
From page 647, he said that
In contradistinction, it is often ...
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Can a system of lenses or compound lens have a higher numerical aperture than a single element in the system?
I am attempting to create a simple Abbe condenser for a microscope, which typically consists of two converging lenses.
Ideally, I would like to achieve a numerical aperture for the condenser of ...
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Is reflection from pockel cell normal?
We are trying to align a laser for a 2-photon microscope and we noticed a reflection from the pockel cell. The reflection can be caught on the edge of the waveplate or the iris that are before the ...
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Measuring Stokes parameters leading to a degree of polarisation greater than one
I am trying to measure the stokes parameters of a laser beam using the rotating waveplate method detailed here:
https://pol3he.sites.wm.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2020/01/measuring-Stokes-...
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How does a Circular Light Source create Shadows with Darker Edges Sometimes?
Problem:
There is a room where the light fixture is circular*. Shadows of objects in this room are darkest in the center and brighter toward the edges, except for my phone charger. Its shadow is ...
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The impulse response of the Rayleigh-Sommerfeld formulation of diffraction
What is the impulse response for the Rayleigh-Sommerfeld formulation of diffraction? In Goodman's Fourier Optics, two formulations for Rayleigh-Sommerfeld are given, and both of them seem to be ...
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1
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Why are Jones vectors normalized?
I have been studying polarization of light, and everywhere I look, one of the main approaches for dealing with polarization of light is by using Jones Vectors.
These vectors describe the polarization ...
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Paraxial Spherical wave emanating from point source
I'm reading through chapter 5.3.1(Impulse response of a Positive lens), in Goodman's "Fourier Optics"(p.109). An object is placed a distance $z_1$ in front of a lens.
If we place a point ...
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I need to find the dependence of spectral resolution from entry and exit slit width of prism spectromer
I have a prism spectrometer which has two entry slits, two collimating mirrors and a rotating prism. I need to to find the the spectral resolution in respect to the changing width of entry end exit ...
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Getting the spectrum of light source at high intensity (for low transmittance measurement)
I am trying to measure the transmittance spectrum through a liquid sample using a visible-NIR spectroscopy (a spectrometer connected to a fiber optics and a collimating lens at the end), with tungsten-...
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How to derive that Optical path length should be stationary from Fermat's principle?
I read above eq. (5.3) in "Optics" by Eugene Hecht
Fermat's Principle maintains that the optical path length OPL will be stationary; that is, its derivative with respect to the position ...
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Using lens formula [closed]
A diverging lens forms an image at a distance of 6cm from the lens with magnification of 0.6. find the position of the object and the focal length of the lens.
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Help with sourcing a specific type of integrating sphere
I am looking for a specific type of integrating sphere that can be used to capture diffuse reflectance measurements, and I would appreciate help with locating a commercially availably version of this ...
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Is it possible to combine two (or more) laser beams into one beam with double intensity? What are the caveats of this method?
Here is a schematic for what I mean:
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Is the Fourier Transform a reliable way to infer the physical phenomena producing an RF signal?
Consider the following thought experiments:
Scenario 1:
A person standing far away shines 3 light beams at you, each beam having a narrow spectral distribution centered around different frequencies F1,...
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When does magnification not depend on distance of object? [closed]
Two thin lenses share a common optical axis. Their focal lengths are f1 = 20 cm, respectively and f2=50 cm. In front of the first lens at distance x>f1 there is an item. On the screen behind the ...
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Why the consecutive spherical wavefronts produced by a rest point source are not equidistant?
I learnt that a point source produces spherical wavefronts and i know the reasoning behind that too and while studying the concept again a question popped in my mind, that "Are those spherical ...
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Is it preferable to say $v$ is " image distance " than to say " image position " in spherical mirror formula?
I was going through spherical mirror formula $1/v + 1/u = 1/f$ where $u$, $v$ and $f$ are named as object distance, image distance and focal length respectively. But while using this equation we do ...
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Can I recover the physical wavelengths present in a light source from a time-series measurement of its amplitude?
Consider a mixture of different wavelengths being emitted from the same point (ex: a star). This light consists of a mixture of wavelengths and intensities at each wavelength. When measuring the ...
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Would the "FFT" of a light source be a reliable indicator of perceived color?
Paraphrasing from here:
A purely monochromatic 575nm wavelength light would be "perceived" as yellow, as would a light that has equal components in red and green (but no yellow). However, ...
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Is it possible to create Fabry-Pérot Interferometer with one partially transparrent and one non-transparent mirror?
In the literature sources I've found so far about Fabry-Pérot interferometer there are only example schematics of the interferometers in transmission - light source is placed from one side of the ...
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1
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450nm peak absorption [closed]
I am looking for an oxide compound (metal oxide, or similar preferably inorganic) which shows light peak absorption at 450 nm. I have troubles in finding the right compound, as most of the oxides have ...
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Absorbance spectrum of common metal oxides
I am looking into metal oxides particles, and I wonder where can I find the absorbance spectrum of visible light of common avaiable metal oxides?
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Based on my calculations, we cannot see the Earth from the ISS. Obviously it's wrong. Why?
What started as a fun exercise really annoys me because I cannot see where I got it wrong.
I initially wanted to see how many photons hit a pixel of a camera on the ISS pointed at the Earth - but I ...
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What will happen if the critical angle is equal to the angle of prism? [closed]
We were studying about total internal reflection in prisms, and my teacher said that if $\theta_c\ >A$ , where $A$ is the angle of prism and $\theta_c$ is the critical angle, then refraction occurs,...
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How would I account for non-linear refractive index effects in a nitrogen based medium?
I am trying to estimate the clamped intensity of a 90 fs femtosecond laser when it passes through a flow of nitrogen that is exiting a nozzle. Prior to the nozzle, the incoming nitrogen flow is heated ...
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1
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Michelson interferometer moving mirror by half wavelength
With expanding beam I understand I will get circular fringes, and I understand if you move the mirror by d the path difference change of the interfering beam is $2dcos\theta$. But I don't understand ...
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Is reflected color not from the wavelength corresponding to that color?
I was reading through Josef Albers' interaction of color (a classical art color theory book), where he makes this point:
If I see a substance, or pigment of a particular color, doesn't that mean I'm ...
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Applying a phase shift to a coherent state vs a phase-space rotation (Mach-Zhender)
I'm having some trouble with the physical implementation of a phase vs rotation in phase-space for a coherent state.
Say I have a laser pulse which yields a coherent state $|\alpha\rangle$, I then put ...
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Derivation of optical resolution
I'm trying to prove optical resolution formula from scratch and im having a hard time doing it. I dont know much about optics (im studying cosmology) and i need a detailed proof of optical resolution ...
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Refraction of light - Huygens' Principle
To elucidate the rationale behind the bending of light as it transitions between different mediums, Huygens' principle is predominantly employed. The procedure, as demonstrated in this video (link: ...
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Difference between Dicke superradiance and dipole-coupled emitter superradiance
This question is similar to "What causes the collective emission in Dicke Model?", but more specific. I wonder if the situation described in
[1] R. H. Dicke – Coherence in Spontaneous ...
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Refractive index from absorbance, transmittance or reflectance spectra of thin film, knowing its thickness
I have absorbance (Abs), reflectance (R%) and transmittance (T%) data of TiO2 deposited thin film on FTO glass substrate. The data was collected using UV-Vis spectrophotometer. Also, I know the ...
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How do you represent a plane wave propagating at an angle $\theta$ w.r.t. $z$-axis? [closed]
There is a plane wave $\exp(i\mathbf{k}\cdot\mathbf{r}-i\omega t)$, where $\mathbf{k}$ is the wave vector. Suppose this wave propagates at an angle $\theta$ w.r.t. $z$-axis. What will be the wave ...
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What's a safe, easily executable experiment to confirm that quantization of light occurs directly to the retina? [closed]
What's a safe, easily executable experiment to confirm that quantization of light occurs directly to the retina.
We know that light is quantized when projected on to a surface, or on to an inanimate ...
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How to calculate refractive index from absorbance, transmittance or reflectance spectra?
I have absorbance (Abs), reflectance (R%) and transmittance (T%) data of TiO2
deposited tin film on FTO glass substrate. The data was collected using UV-Vis spectrophotometer.
How to calculate ...
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1
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What is a true delay line and is there possibly a false delay line?
I'm reading "Silicon nitride passive and active photonic integrated circuits: trends and prospects" and one of discussed application of $\rm SiN$ is "true delay line". All the ...
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Creating a wavelength selectable light source using diffraction grating and broad-spectrum led
Could a miniature wavelength selectable light source (lamp + monochromator) be created by using a broad spectrum led or tiny xenon/deuterium lamp as a light source combined with a small diffraction ...
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How to calculate refractive index $n$ from absorbance, transmittance or reflectance spectra?
I have absorbance (Abs), reflectance (R%) and transmittance (T%) data of $\rm TiO_2$ deposited tin film on FTO glass substrate. The data was collected using UV-Vis spectrophotometer.
How to calculate ...
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1
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Refractive index of titanium dioxide films as a function of wavelength for 400 C ° annealed films
I used UV-Vis/NIR spectrophotometer to extract the measurements of refractive index %R corresponding with wavelengths in the range of 190-1100 nm of TiO2 thin film deposited on FTO glass substrate. ...
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How large is the Group Delay Dispersion for ultrafast light pulse into glass if the refractive index changes linearly?
If an ideal ultrafast pulse with the duration of 1 cycle of light is propagating from air (with n = 1) into glass in the direction normal to the interface, Im also assuming the refractive index n of ...
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Can we explain certain light phenomenon like refraction using particle nature of light?
Using Hugyen's principle and wave nature of light, refraction, diffraction are relatively simple to explain but I have been visualing a mental model for a couple of days where the photons on reach the ...
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Measuring reflectance of a non-planar object w/ an integrating sphere
I am designing an experiment to measure the reflectance (diffuse+specular) of insect specimens, and I plan to use an integrating sphere to collect the measurements. Typically, I have seen that ...
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Why can't we see scattered blue light from the sky, reflected from white objects?
We know that the sky appears blue due to Rayleigh scattering. But nevertheless, we are able to see white objects. I suppose it is because white objects reflect blue light so weakly that it is ...
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Plano convex lens refraction angles formula
I am designing an optical device with several plano-convex lenses. In order to determine several measurements I need to be able to calculate the resulting refracted angles at the edges of the lens in ...
